Happy making-things time!

Monthly Archives: September 2012

It’s chilly! I am about to experience my first Pennsylvania winter, brrr. Steph and I have moved into a trailer behind Juniper Hill Farms. We’ve been working hard to renovate it, and as soon as it looks less like a construction site I’ll post some before and after pictures.

Here’s something awesome: the following Animal Collective video was shot here at Juniper Hill and the trailer you see in the beginning is where we live! Steph and I know some of the people and most of the animals in this video. That donkey is LOUD!

I like living here- there’s a kind of creative magic in the bones of the place.

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When Stephan and I drive in to Philadelphia, I spend most of my time sitting in the Random Tea Room. Their specialty is chai and there’s always a big pot of it simmering and making the whole place smell amazing. It feels more like a living room than a tea shop, and people are friendly. Lots of the patrons seem to know each other. I like to make felted animals in there- it’s a portable project, and I focus better away from home. I met a photography student named Dan Conlon. We had a nice chat while he was taking pictures of things around the shop, and he took a photo of one of my little sculptures. He sent the picture to me:

I spent the afternoon out in the yard flick-carding lovely brown wool. It feels like fall out today, which is oh-so-nice after a summer spent mostly without air conditioning. The turn in the weather reminds me that I need to start thinking about stocking up my etsy store for the winter holidays. SoooOoooooo… I’d love to know what you’d be most interested in seeing from One True Mango in the upcoming months. If you’d take my little poll I would be most grateful. 🙂

This weekend was quite eventful. I went to a honeybee festival in Philly and got to see keepers working with a beehive up close- I have been having bee dreams since then. I heard a talk from beekeeper Jim Bobb who is working with artist Hilary Berseth to make art with the help of bees. They build a structure and the bees cover it in honeycomb. Take a look!

It’s a different way to think about using animals to help in your work. I use animals for their fiber all the time, but since they aren’t involved in making the final structure there’s a different dynamic. As for the bunnies, I think they are just glad to have less fur.

I have been making mushroom ornaments all week! They’ll be nice as Christmas ornaments or general decorations.

I am living at lovely Juniper Hill Farms once again, probably through the winter. It’s a good place to be making things.

For Eric Guy- This is my first go at making a felted Tardigrade, or Water Bear. They can survive extreme high and low temperatures, radiation, and the vacuum of space. Also they are super duper cute and have a waddly little walk.